The Camping Forum

[Curlyminx]

We just found a towbar for my teeny-tiny Renault Modus on eBay for £60, it needs new electrics but we think it's a bargain none-the-less.

Anybody got any experience of rewiring tow bar electrics, or should I just try and buy a new lot? OH is very handy electrically so if it can be done I'm sure he'll be able to, we were just wondering if anyone on here had any tips or tales of woe?

Now we can have our weekend kit ready packed and waiting to go at the drop of a hat! Hurrah!

Have also been talking to OH about making a hard top for the trailer and sticking the roofbox on it. Just got to make sure we don't exceed any weight limits, it'll be nice to be able to see out of the back window, and not have the dogs perched precariously on top of a pile of stuff on the back seat :-D

Happy minx!

[M0KAS]

probably the easy way would be fit the tow bar, run the cable into the boot, then take it to a towbar place an get them to connect it up, or get one of those sender units things thats mentioned in another post

[nutgone]

Whatever you do it's not that difficult. There are 2 different systems for trailer lights, one takes power directly from each rear light (that's needed) & uses this to power the trailer lights, this is the good old fashioned way of doing things, but you also need to wire in a buzzer which tells you your indicators are working. This system can interfere with the systems on some modern cars. If you have a "bulb failure warning system" on your car then you may well need the other type.....
The other system takes it's power from the car's battery & uses a signal from each of the rear lights to switch a relay which powers each of the trailer lights. This also needs the buzzer to tell you your indicators are working.

Both systems are almost as easy to fit, they are available in kit form with full instructions for the home mechanic. The trouble with me is my dad's a retired mechanic & I'm an electrician, so I've always taken these jobs on myself & wouldn't dream of farming it out to someone else.

I did one recently for my sister-in-law, she had obtained a tow bar for her Citroen Picasso with a full Citroen wiring kit, this made life much easier, it simply plugged into the car's existing wiring system, there was no cutting of wires at all & no having to trace wires from different lights trying to work out what they do!

It may be worth approaching Renault to see how much they charge for a proper Renault "plug in" trailer wiring harness (knowing Renault they'll probably want a fortune but you never know). This would be the easiest way by far, but probably the most expensive, worth finding out though.

Any good motor spares type shop should sell trailer wiring kits though, if OH knows what they are doing I say do it yourself.

[Curlyminx]

Brillaint, thanks for the tips. We are going to pick it up tonight, so we'll see what we'll need then. :-)

[martin2008]

Both the Towbar and Electrics are simple on the modus. No bypass is needed, just straightforward into rear lights. Careful where you position the socket itself due to the exhaust exit.
http://www.unitedtowbars.co.uk

[Curlyminx]

Argh! Sourced the bit to fix the locking mechanism, went to fit the bar to the car and two of the teaching plates are missing, and Thule can't (or won't) sell them separately - so asking for my money back. Oh pants. Big frilly pants. :-(

[nutgone]

Well, I borrowed my dad's car the other day & drove all the way to Windsor to pick up a tow bar for my old beemer, only when I got there & met the bloke did he choose to tell me he had made it himself!

Fortunately he's actually made quite a good job of it, he was a steel fabricator/engineer before retiring early with Crohnes disease.

Also, I have seen a genuine tow bar for my car model before, & his attempt is very close to the original, just got the lovely job of fitting it now, it's not like these modern ones, which usually just bolt on. Older cars usually require holes to be drilled, with lots of measuring & marking out, & my car's no exception.

£30 for the bar + about £20-£25 diesel to pick it up, not bad really. It was a good 150mile round trip though.

[Curlyminx]

Looks like you had much better luck than me. Sounds like a bargain.

[nutgone]

Looks like you had much better luck than me. Sounds like a bargain.

If you don't mind the prospect of pulling a caravan with a home made tow bar!

It's not doing my caravan hunting any good, as now I've really got to take the weight into consideration. I know he's done a good job, but I'd rather not go over a tonne now.

[Curlyminx]

Oh absolutely, it's a bit of a worry isn't it?